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Winners
Jimmy Graham
Is it just me, or does this guy look like a monster? Graham displayed his size on his touchdown catch as he won a jump ball over two Texans defenders. He finished with 3 catches for 48 yards and a touchdown on the night.
Drew Brees
It might be getting cliché to list Brees as a "winner" in a game but he looked very good. With him missing basically all of the Saints offseason, it is relieving to see him perform so well. He finished the night completing 17 of his 25 passes for 179 yards and two touchdown passes. A 10-yard scamper was thrown in there as well.
Travaris Cadet
Cadet is doing as much as he can to make it hard for the Saints to cut him. After a rough first couple of games, he has rebounded pretty well. He caught 3 receptions for 31 yards and had 5 carries for 20 yards.
Junior Galette
Galette scooped up a fumble and returned it 16 yards to the house.
Garrett Hartley
Hartley went 2 for 3 on the night. The field goal that he missed was from 52 yards. He also nailed three extra points. It's looking more and more like Hartley will be the Saints kicker this season.
The Defense
Aside from the score and yards allowed, this was a great night for the defense. They forced three fumbles. To go along with the turnovers, they had a whopping six sacks. But what might be my favorite statistic of the night, is that Houston's offense was only 1 for 9 on third down efficiency all night, a mere 11% conversion rate.
Losers
Chris Ivory
Yes, Ivory did average over 7 yards per carry against the Texans. But he also put the rock on the ground. Between his case of fumblitis this offseason and the fact that Cadet is making a strong push for his position, Ivory might be slipping down the depth chart, possibly all the way off the roster.
The NFL
These replacement officials are despicable. I don't know how many times I saw them second guessing their calls or just flat out missing their calls. On one penalty, the umpire started to give the signal for a false start on Houston, completely stopped what he was doing, and then called an encroachment on the Saints. What buffoonery.